How to Survive in the Wild: Be a Good Mimic

Just ask the dancing spider, the jawfish, and the octopus

(Newser)
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If you're a fan of animal mimicry stories, today's just like your birthday:

Spider dance: Biologists have discovered that a male wolf spider who sees another male doing a little spider dance to attract a mate will not only mimic the moves but try to improve upon them and outdance his rival, reports Wired. See the gallery for video of one spider watching another and getting his groove on with some serious leg-tapping.

Copying the copier: The spider item is tough to beat, but National Geographic might just do it. A researcher noticed that a jawfish, normally reclusive, was swimming in the open ocean in camouflage of sorts: It blended in with the colors and movements of a roving octopus. The kicker is that octopus being mimicked was itself a "mimic octopus," expert at taking the form of other sea creatures. "We've never seen anything like that before," says another researcher who watched the video. (It's also in the gallery.)

Any Richpublican visiting a redneck Retardlican drinking establishment knows to embrace the hatred of gays and minorities... You say survival, I say "Right Wing Political Correctness."

JoeQ

Jan 5, 2012 10:36 PM CST

I've seen an octopus imitate a rock, a flounder, and a lion fish. They're the shape-changers of the animal kingdom. It is incredibly cool to see these critters in action.
Since octopi are cannibals, I wonder if the jawfish was pretending to be an octopus to scare off octopi.

hidflect

Jan 5, 2012 7:31 PM CST

This explains how Mimes survive in the city even though everyone hates them.

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